Can You Keep A Secret
by LadyTrunks
Summary: Sequel to Just Our Little Secret. Rogue and Pietro continue their relationship, but how long can they keep it a secret?


Okay, finally finished. This is dedicated to Untouchable Heart and Blood Roses, two of the best Rietro writers out there and who were thoughtful enough to mention me in their fics. You two rock! ^^ If you haven't read their fics, you must. The names are **When There's No One To Catch You **by _Untouchable Heart_ and **The Gift **by _Blood Roses_. You won't be disappointed. While you're at it read **Alone** by _Shadow Knight (_a fic that I adore) and all of _MBLite's _fics (**Tag** is the definitive Rietro fic). Now I'll stop.

Can You Keep A Secret

By Lady Trunks

This takes place about two months after Just Our Little Secret, so I suggest that you read that first. Also, it's kind of mushy (fluffy if you will) especially at the beginning but I'm trying to build on their relationship for later. I'm trying to add more action… But I must admit I'm more of a romance writer. I think Pietro's out of character, and I'm sorry. But it's kind of hard to write a romance about a hyperactive sexy speed demon. If you want to know where this fits in with the show… I'd say after Turn of the Rogue, and from there it's completely AU. Also note that I'm messing a little with the ages. Rogue, Pietro, Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Lance are all seniors. The rest (including the BoM) with the exception of Jamie (who's 12) are sophomores. (I know that Scott and Jean are supposed to be older… if it helps imagine that they flunked. ^^ But I don't want to do that to Lance, I love Lance. Um, he decided to stay and farther develop his academic career?? Or not.) Doesn't have too much bearing on the story as long as you know they're all still in high school.

***

Rogue watched out the window as the last car pulled away leaving her the only one at the mansion, a very rare occasion indeed. When the professor first announced his plans to take the others on an overnight trip into the city, she had thought that she would be stuck going as well. It had taken some fast talking on her part, and a few mentions of close proximities with poison skin and numerous mentions of absolutely no desire to go, that had allowed her to remain at home. And even more fast-talking, not to mention a lot of luck, to get Logan to go as well, and not remain behind as babysitter. She was still surprised that they had agreed to it. 

When she realized she was completely alone, she let out a sigh of relief and seemed to have a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. She smiled, a true smile, and anyone who was watching would hardly have recognized her as the same girl who was often referred to as the Ice Queen behind her back. She ran, practically skipping, up the stairs and into the bathroom that she shared with Kitty and took a quick shower, when she was finished she looked into the mirror and combed her hair.

Normally she would put on her heavy Goth makeup but since there was no one else around she skipped it and slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Even though it was the middle of August and therefore hot outside, it was an outfit she wouldn't normally wear, but since there was no real risk now she put them on. She exited the bathroom with a smile on her face, which faded as she was grabbed from behind. 

She spun around ready to attack but pulled up short when she saw who it was. "Pietro, and what do you think your doing?" There was a frown on her face when she said it, which caused him to pout at her. At his look the frown was replaced by a grin and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. After a few seconds of enjoyment she pulled back, "And what took you so long?" She arched a brow at him, and he smirked and pulled a bouquet of flowers out that she had failed to notice earlier. 

At the site she couldn't resist kissing him again. "That's so sweet. Thank you."

"So," he asked her wrapping his arms casually around her, "what do you want to do first?" 

She thought for about half a second and then grinned a sly grin. He saw the look on her face and fought to hide a matching expression instead trying to look hurt. "Oh, I see how you are. You just want me for my body." 

This caused her to laugh at him, before quickly deciding to play back. "Of course not. If you don't want to, we can go watch a movie." It was said with an innocent expression as she started to walk away towards the living room. Before she had a chance to take more then two steps she found herself swept up into his arms. 

"I wouldn't want to disappoint you or anything." He teased her. "So which one of these rooms is yours anyways?"

Rogue giggled and pointed to a door and he strode towards it. "You're to kind," she told him wryly, the smile still on her lips. 

"I know," he said, his voice self-sacrificing. "It's a weakness. I'm always putting the welfare of others before myself." He pushed open her door and lowered her on the bed that he assumed to be hers. He immediately followed her onto the bed, kissing her. 

"Poor baby." She sighed into his mouth. "It must be so hard."

"Oh it is," the last was said on a moan as she lightly scraped his jaw with her teeth then soothed it with her tongue. 

"Anything I can do to make it up to you?" She asked, obvious invitation in her voice. 

"Oh, I can think of a few. Why don't I show you, " he told her with a grin. And then proceeded to do just that

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a long and gratifying time later when both Pietro and Rogue were sprawled exhausted in the bed wrapped in each other's arms. 

"So why is it that they took off and left you here all alone?" Pietro asked her, pushing her hair tenderly back from her face. 

"Everyone started panicking that they didn't have everything for when school starts on Monday, so the professor decided that they needed to go into the city to finish all their shopping. I think he was probably grateful for the chance to get out of the house with that many teenagers all cooped up. I told them that I already have everything I need and didn't want to go shopping anymore than I have to." He grinned at that very Rogue statement. 

"So, what did you have in mind for today?" 

"Hmm, I'm open for suggestions. Whatever you want to do. One of our last free days before school starts back up." 

"Can you believe that schools going to be starting in a three days?" He sighed in disgust at the thought. "The only good thing about it is that we got into all the same classes." 

"I meant to ask you how you managed to do that." She looked at him questioningly, but he only smirked and remained silent. In response, she yanked her pillow out from under him and smacked him with it. 

"Hey." He said, trying to block it. "You know Roguey, you've got a hell of a temper on you." 

She swung the pillow at him again. "I do not," she vehemently denied.

"Do too." He said picking up the other pillow and swinging it at her.

"Do not." Another swing, this one actually managed to glance of his shoulders. 

"Too." He said, tossing aside the pillow and tackling her back onto the bed. 

"Not." she flipped him over so he was the one on his back.

"Too." he leaned towards her until there was only a few inches separating their faces.

"Not," this last one was whispered right before there lips met and both completely forgot what they had been arguing over. 

After a few minutes Rogue pulled away. "You never did tell me what you wanted to do today."

He thought about it for a minute then suggested, "How about we go swimming then watch a movie or something and order dinner." 

"Sounds good to me," she agreed, "except how about I cook dinner instead."

"Your Spaghetti?" he asked, an excited gleam in his eyes. It had been one of his favorite foods that she cooked back when they both lived in the 'hood. 

"Of course. Wow, this almost sounds like a real date." There was a wistful look in her eyes as she said this, and Pietro sighed. He knew that she longed to behave like a normal couple, but because of who they were that was impossible. He wished that he could give her what she wanted and it tore him apart inside to know that he couldn't. But, he silently vowed, I will make it up to her somehow. He felt a wave of emotion sweep over him and he held her close and kissed her tenderly on her forehead. 

She looked at him questioningly, sensing the strange mood he was in. Instead of explaining, he just asked her, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"Not nearly enough." They laid in silence for a bit, just enjoying having the other close. 

"Okay, then. Let's go swimming. I wonder wear my suit is?" She didn't have much opportunity to wear it, since she preferred to stay covered most of the time. She got up and searched through her dresser. She finally pulled it out of the bottom drawer. "Ah ha. Found it!"

"Do you really think you'll need that?" Pietro asked, grinning at her wickedly.

"Yes. I've never had the chance to wear it before." With that she disappeared into the bathroom. 

She reappeared a soon after and Pietro felt his jaw drop to the floor. He hadn't paid attention to the suit before and now saw that it was a jade green bikini that matched her eyes and showed off her figure. "Do you like it?" she asked, posing in the door. 

He found his voice finally, "You are never, ever to wear that in front of any of the guys that live here!"

"I take it you like it then, sugar," she stated with a smile, choosing to ignore the possessiveness of his statement.

"Oh, yeah." She smiled at him and then disappeared for a minute. She reappeared and tossed him a pair of black swimming trunks that were covered with green frogs. He looked at her questioningly. 

"They're Kurt's. He'll never know." 

"Should have guessed." She just laughed and headed for the pool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was later that evening and Pietro was in the kitchen watching as Rogue cooked over the stove. He couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked in a pink apron. She noticed his expression and looked up from where she was adding spaghetti to a pot of boiling water. 

"What?" she asked him.

"I never realized how sexy cooking could be." He told her with a lecherous grin. She blushed at his words but couldn't help from smiling at the flattery.

"I'll remember that when were in Home Ec class." she teased him.

At her words he groaned. "I still can't believe I let you talk me into that. I can hardly boil water without burning it."

"Well, then I'll just have to help you." she said with another smile and checked the pan of sauce that was simmering. 

There was a companionable silence as Rogue went back to her cooking and Pietro gazed thoughtfully at her in deep thought. He watched as she moved around the kitchen competently with a smile, humming a soft tune. 

"You're not happy very often, are you?" His words halted her in her tracks. 

"Of course. I'm always happy when I'm with you." He smiled at her answer, but wasn't side tracked. 

"And I'm happy when I'm with you. But that's not what I meant. You're not happy just living her, with being an X-Man." 

She continued her tasks, but was contemplating what he had just asked. He waited patiently, knowing that when she was ready she would talk. And after a couple of minutes she did. 

"It's not that I don't like living here, it's a great house. And with a few exceptions the people are nice. But…" her voice trailed off and she thought about what she wanted to explain and her eyes got a distant look to them. "But I don't really feel like I belong here. I've never really had the typical family. First there was Irene, then the Brotherhood, and now the X-Men, and though they were all kind of like family, they all wanted something from me. I always felt that I constantly had to prove myself worthy of belonging, and that's not the way a family should be." She looked at him to see if he understood what she was trying to explain and saw by his eyes that he did. 

"I always felt the same way. I doubt that Magneto would want anything to do with me if I wasn't a mutant. Did you know that I have a sister?" She looked surprised, but didn't interrupt. "A twin actually, Wanda. She was powerful even when she was young, but he couldn't control her, so he had her committed. I can still see her as they led her away, tears running down her face. God, how I hated him then. And I was powerless to stop them, I was too scared to even try." She went over to comfort him, feeling how upset the memory made him. "After that I did what he wanted, afraid that if I didn't he'd have me locked up too. When he sent me to live with the brotherhood I was happy to get away."

They stood in silence, both offering the other silent support, wishing they could make up for the pain that both had experienced in the past, and silently vowing to make sure the future was different. 

"Do you smell something burning?" Pietro asked her, after a few minutes. 

"My Rolls!" Rogue ran over to the oven and through it open. A big cloud of dark smoke rolled out. She grabbed some hot pads and yanked out a black mass that had once been rolls. "Dang it!" she tossed them onto the counter in frustration. 

"And you were going to teach me how to cook?" Pietro asked her smirking. Her only response was to pick up one of the burnt rolls and throw it at him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was bathed in darkness except for the faint light shining in from the moon. Pietro snuggled Rogue closer to him on the couch where she had fallen asleep while they had been watching a movie. Though it was late, he was too preoccupied with their conversation earlier to drift to sleep yet. 

He wasn't a person that opened up easily, but with Rogue it was different. They understood each other, more than he had thought possible. It was as if with her, he had found another part of himself. Which brought up the current problem. He knew that having found her, he couldn't stand to lose her. Which put them in a precarious position considering that they were supposed to be enemies. 

When their teammates found out that they were a couple, there was going to be trouble. The Brotherhood would probably be more open to it since at one time Rogue had been one of them, but the X-Men's reaction would be a lot worse. They would question her already questionable loyalties for the same reason. 

He knew that they would try to split them up, but he couldn't stand that. They belonged together. He was almost to the point of sleep when he felt a wave of panic sweep over him and his heart speed up and his skin turned clammy and covered with a slight sweat. He was perplexed, since he didn't know what would have caused the reaction when he heard Rogue's voice, "No! Stop!" The words echoed in the silent mansion. He thought that she might have woken up, but on closer inspection saw that she was still asleep, and having a nightmare. 

He shook her gently to wake her up, and when her eyes blinked open he was saw that they were glistening with tears. Seeing this, he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. "You okay?" he asked gently, she nodded in response. 

"Just a nightmare."

"Want to talk about it?" 

She thought for a second and then recounted her dream. "It was all of us, The Brotherhood and the X-Men, and we were fighting this mutant that was so strong. We finally managed to beat him. Somehow everyone found out that we are a couple and they told me that I had to choose. We argued and then Scott tried to attack you. I was so scared that you were going to get hurt." She started sobbing.

He pulled her tighter; brushing light kisses on her forehead as murmuring soothingly. Eventually her sobs faded. "You know I'm not going anywhere. If it comes down to it I'll just have to kick Summers' ass." She laughed at his smug comment, which was what he was striving for. "Now why don't I take you to bed?" He swept her up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom. Soon both were deeply asleep, this time with no nightmares to trouble them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun shinning through the window woke Rogue from her deep slumber. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she became aware of the presence lying beside her. Though waking up next to someone was a novel concept to the girl, it was in no way unpleasant. 

She took the opportunity to study Pietro's features as he slept; his expression was relaxed so he had a look of vulnerability about him and to her eyes appeared absolutely beautiful. She found the fact that this breathtaking person could love her awe-inspiring, she acknowledged her faults (she was very guarded and overly defensive, to name a few) but he had managed to look past that and see the person underneath. It was something very few people would take the time and effort to do and she was fortunate that he was one of them. 

She positioned her head so that it was resting lightly on his chest as he continued to sleep. The sound of his heart beating as his chest rose and fell with each breath brought her a feeling of contentment. At that moment in time there was nowhere else that she would rather be. Touch was something she had been denied for to long, and she cherished the opportunity to just experience it. 

She wasn't sure when exactly he woke up, but he just lay there, apparently feeling the same sensation she was. "Morning, sugar." 

"Good morning, love." He responded with a kiss. He pulled back and told her "Close your eyes." She gave him a glance before doing what he had asked. "Ok, open them." 

When her eyes open she saw a white-gold heart-shaped necklace hanging from his hand. She gasped; it was so beautiful. He gently brushed her hair back, and fastened it around her neck. When he was done she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Pietro. It's beautiful. Thank you." 

"Your welcome." 

With a glance at the clock she reluctantly separated herself from him and rose out of the bed. "Time to get up. Got to dress before all the others get here and you have to go."

He pouted at her. "I don't want to get up." Then a mischievous grin appeared on his face, "Why don't you come back to bed? I'll make it worth you're while." He said it suggestively, leaving no doubt to his meaning. 

She hid a smile trying not to laugh, "Fine you stay in bed. I'm going to go take a shower. I was going to ask you to join me…" Before she could even finish the sentence he was out of the bed and at her side. 

"Have I ever mentioned that I'm the best at water sports?" She no longer bothered to hold back her laughter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bottles topped the counter of the sink of assorted shapes and sizes. Rogue reached for one, but a hand halted her. "Why do you wear that stuff?" Pietro asked studying the bottle for a second before releasing her hand.

"I like it." She said; her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him in the mirror. "Besides you should be happy that I do. Otherwise I would have a tough time explaining these marks." She said gesturing to the marks he had left on her neck pointedly. 

Instead of looking ashamed he just grinned at her unrepentantly. "You don't hear me complaining about the ones you left on me." She blushed at that reminder. 

"That's different. On you nobody will be surprised, however they will wonder how someone "untouchable" happened to get hickeys." 

"Well, they should be gone by when school starts on Monday. Will you stop wearing it then? You look beautiful without out it." He cajoled her.

"Tell you what sugar. I'll make a deal with you. I'll stop wearing my Goth makeup and you do something for me."

There was a cautious look in his eyes. "And what would that be?"

"You have to apologize to Evan."

He looked at her in shock. There was no way that he was going to apologize to Daniels. He was his nemesis. "No way. I could never live with myself if I apologized to that chump. He actually has the nerve to think he can compete with me. And what do I have to apologize to that dupe for?" 

She rolled her eyes at his pompous attitude. "For having him thrown in jail," she remarked dryly. His only reply was a snort but he looked a bit embarrassed. "You know I love you, but to others you do have this tendency to act like an ass." 

He pouted at her words. "I'm hurt, Rogue." Though he said it lightly she knew him well enough to see that the words actually had hurt him a little. Seeing this, she turned around and hugged him. 

"I said to others, love." A light kiss emphasized her words. "I know that it's just an act. Besides," she smirked slightly, "I happen to think it's kinda cute." 

He grinned at that, the damage repaired. "Cute, huh?" 

"Adorable. Like a puppy."

"What?!" She laughed outright at his feigned indignation. He muttered under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like I ain't no damn puppy. 

"So do we have a deal?" She asked him, causing him to stop his muttering. 

"One little addition, though. I think me apologizing to the porcupine deserves more than just you quit wearing that god-awful makeup. Which, by the way you should be thanking me for. Let's add a little something to it. You owe me a favor, which will be mentioned later and you can't argue with me about it. Deal?"

"Deal." He then grinned at her, a look so full of naughtiness that she couldn't help but groan. 

"What on earth did I just agree to?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was later that evening and all the other mutants had returned home from their shopping trip. Rogue greeted them at the door, Pietro having left safely hours ago. Everyone came in grinning and carrying bags with the exception of Bobby who was going his best to look remorseful, a look everyone at the institute was familiar with. It could only mean one thing.

Jamie rushed up to her excitedly. Though she didn't like to admit it to anyone (she did have a rep to protect after all) she had a soft spot for the youngest member of the team, an affection that he returned. "Hi Rogue. You wanna see what I got?" 

"Sure." The lowering her voice so only he could hear, "What did Bobby do this time?"

Using the same low volume as her, he replied, "He froze all of Jeans clothes while she was taking a shower. She had to spend hours waiting for them to thaw out, before she realized that Amara could have melted it. Boy was she mad." Rogue laughed at that. 

She looked at Bobby again and he grinned at her and winked before his face returned to the same expression as before. Rogue was still laughing at the thought as Jamie eagerly pulled herself into the common room and began emptying his bags. Though they sometimes drove her crazy, she would miss those two if it turned out she had to leave. 

It was a thought that had been troubling her a lot lately. If, actually when, the others found out about her and Pietro it would be a major dispute. And even though she liked living at the mansion she would not stay there if it came down to a choice between them or Pietro. The only problem was she had nowhere else to go. 

Pushing those thoughts aside she turned her attention back to Jamie, who was on his last bag. "And I got this for you!" he told her, handing her the bag. She looked at him surprised. With the exception of Pietro's gift earlier (which she was currently wearing under her shirt) she couldn't remember the last time someone had given her a present. She accepted the bag and opened it. She took out what was inside, a red see-through shirt similar to her other. Red wasn't a color she wore often, but she appreciated his giving it to her that she decided right then and there that she would wear it to school on Monday. 

"Thank you, Jamie! I love it!" she told him with a huge grin and impulsively hugged him, a gesture that he returned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is it about school that even if you hate going and look with dread towards the first day back after summer vacation, on the first day you're up bright and early, a pattern that you know won't continue. Well, whatever the reason, that particular day found Rogue (and almost all the other X-Men) up and dressed with plenty of time to spare. She looked over her appearance in the mirror and sighed deeply, might as well get this over with.

With those final thoughts she walked down the stairs and entered the dining room. The chatter that was flowing around the room died as they got a good look at her. She was dressed in black jeans and a tight black tank top with the shirt that Jamie had given her on over it. She also had on her customary boots and gloves and the necklace that Pietro had given her. But the thing that caused the silence wasn't what she was wearing but rather what she wasn't. It was the first time that they had ever seen her without her Goth makeup. 

Ignoring their gaping looks she grabbed an apple and went over and took a seat by Jamie, who seemed the least effected by her appearance. "You look great." He told her with a grin, happy that she was wearing his present. 

"Thanks, sugar." 

Everyone seemed to come to terms with the less-goth Rogue, and the talking began up again. Breakfast continued on in the normal manner, but every once in a while Rogue would catch people glancing at her. She sighed to herself; this was going to be a long day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After everyone was finished eating they headed off to school. The older kids rode in Scott's car and the younger one's were driven in the van. Since they arrived early they all hung outside, enjoying the last minutes of freedom. Numerous people walked by and most of them (especially the guys) glanced at Rogue, taking her for a new student. It was starting to annoy her to no end. Were these people so dense that they didn't even recognize someone if they changed their makeup? The answer to that, of course.

She seriously considered going home and putting on her makeup, but before she had a chance she heard a loud sound of wheels screeching as the Brotherhood arrived in Lance's jeep. She tried to look casual as they hopped out of the vehicle and headed towards them. She took a casual glance towards Pietro and felt her heart flutter. Damn, he was sexy. She pushed the thought aside, hoping she wasn't blushing, now was not the time or the place. 

When they saw her she waited for the comments that she knew were bound to come. To her surprise Lance just glanced at her and didn't seem that surprised. "About time you got rid of all that shit." He then turned his attention to Kitty. 

"You look nice, yo." Todd told her.

"Yeah," agreed Fred. "Not as scary."

The X-Men all held their breath at that waiting for an explosion to occur, but to their surprise she just laughed. "Thanks you guys. That's the best compliment I've received in a while." 

Kitty spoke up then, managing to tear her attention away from Lance. "You never did say why the sudden change, though." 

"I made a deal with someone." Her gaze locked with Pietro's for a second before she glanced pointedly looked at Evan. 

"With who?" Kitty asked, and the others waited expectantly to find out who could have that kind of impact on their friend.

Her eyes again locked with Pietro's and she smiled impishly. "Oh, no one important." She could tell he wanted to say something to that but couldn't. His eyes promised retribution later. She hadn't realized what fun it was baiting him before. With that she turned and grabbed a hold of Kitty's hand and started pulling her towards the door. She couldn't help herself, and giggled. "Come on Kit Kat. Let's go find our new lockers." With that she practically bounced off dragging Kitty behind her.

She left a group of very stunned mutants behind her. 

"Did she just giggle?" A shocked Scott asked. 

"I think so." Todd said, wearing the same expression. 

Bobby spoke up, "I didn't have anything to do with it, but I think Hell just froze over."

Pietro rolled his eyes, his customary smirk back in place. He didn't think it was all that surprising, he had seen that side of her a lot when they were alone. She was laughing at his expense, knowing that he was going to have to do something that he really, really didn't want to do. "Daniels, can I talk to you for a second?" 

The shock looked left by Rogue's actions fled from his face and was replaced by a look of caution. "What for?"

Pietro mentally groaned; this was so not going to be easy. "I just need to talk to you for a minute." 

Evan reluctantly followed him a ways away from the others and waited, knowing that there had to be some kind of catch. This was Pietro after all. Of course what happened next shocked him enough to make the whole Rogue thing pale in comparison. It was a very dazed Evan that rejoined the other X-Men. 

"So what did Speedy want?" Scott asked as soon as he saw him.

Evan, still in a stupor, replied numbly. "To apologize. Man, this is just too much shock for one day. I need to lay down."

"To apologize for what, exactly?" Kurt asked, voicing the question they were all thinking. There was just so much that Pietro had done to Evan in the time that they had been rivals that they had trouble narrowing it down to just one incident. 

The mystified Evan shrugged. "Everything. The locker incident that wound me up in jail and everything else he's done. This is just to much." With that he headed towards the doors, and the others followed. It was going to be one of those days. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pietro had to smile as he remembered Evan's reaction to his apology. If he had known that it would disturb him that much he would have done it a long time ago. It was so amusing to throw his rival for a loop. All in all it had been a relatively painless experience. But there was no way in hell he was going to admit that to Rogue. After all she owed him, and he had every intention of collecting. 

Speaking of the (formerly) gothic beauty, he was supposed to catch up with her before their first class so they could 'accidentally' sit together. He spotted her ahead in the hall, where she seemed to be listening to something that two girls were saying. He wondered what they could have been talking about to attract her interest, and as he came up to them he could over hear some of it. 

"… He doesn't have a girlfriend.

"Remember that Sadie Hawkins dance last year when he actually showed up with four dates?" At these words he realized that the subject that Rogue was finding so interesting was none other than himself, something that he couldn't help but find amusement in. 

"Well, are you surprised? Can you imagine a guy like Pietro settling for just one girl? It will never happen."

"Well, I for one wouldn't mind being one of four if it meant that I could go to the Back To School dance with him. I can share…" Her conversation faded off as she realized the object of their discussion had come up beside them. With that she turned her attention to him and smiled flirtatiously. Though there was a time before when he would have shamelessly flirted with the girl, he had a girlfriend now (albeit a secret one) and he didn't think she would look too kindly to that kind of behavior. 

He had a feeling that Rogue would be a pretty possessive girlfriend, which to his own surprise he didn't mind at all. In fact, possessiveness was a feeling that he was rapidly growing accustomed to when he saw some of the looks the other guys were giving to **_his_** girlfriend. The fact that they weren't aware that it was his girlfriend didn't help the situation any. 

He glanced up and caught her eyes and an unspoken message passed between them, that if you were one of the privileged two that heard it would have sounded something like, 'Show's how little they know'. So with just a nod in the direction of the girl, Pietro continued on down the hallway with Rogue not far behind. The brief glance he had of his secret girlfriends face revealed a satisfied smile which produced a similar expression on his own. . 

They entered their first hour class, English Composition, and were grateful to see that the few seats remaining were by each other. They took seats in the back and waited for the teacher to come in. As they were waiting, talk once again turned to the Back to School dance. 

Rogue leaned over to Pietro and spoke quietly, "I can't believe that all these people are so fixated with that stupid dance. It's not even until next Saturday, and it's only Monday. Why are they so obsessed with it?" 

He grinned at her and whispered in a low voice so as not to be over heard, "Well, Roguey, if I could go to the dance with you I would be obsessed with it too. Getting to hold you in my arms, move to the music, and show the whole school that the most beautiful girl in the whole school is completely devoted to me, and I to her." 

His words had a hypnotic effect and she lost herself in them, marveling in his sincerity and felt an intense longing to experience what it was he was talking about. Unconsciously she felt herself lean toward him, and had to pull herself back at the last second. She hated the fact that she had to deny her relationship with Pietro, the person she loved most in the world even if it had been her own choice. And that thought is what finally convinced her. "I'm going to tell them."

Her words stunned the other teenager, who just blinked rapidly at her for a second. "You are?" He tried to hide the hopefulness from his voice, not wanting to pressure her. 

"By next week." She vowed, and then continued with a smile. "So, will you be my date to the Back to School dance?"

"Rogue," He mocked, batting his eyelashes at her, "are you asking me out?"

"You know Quicky, you really are a dork sometime."

"I am not!" he said, affront clearly on his face.

"You are too!"

"Am not!" 

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

Before their debate could further escalate the teacher walked in bringing the room to silence. As she began to talk about what to expect this year in her class, Rogue pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something on it then folded it. When she was sure no one was looking she passed the note over to Pietro.

He opened it and read what it said: _Is that a yes or a no, Silver? _He took out a pen and added his own message to the note and handed it back to her. She opened it. _I don't know, you did call me a dork._ _ So,_ _I might be busy that night… Washing my hair… In Canada. _As she read that she hid a smile, he really was a bit of a dork. She added another message, _I'm sorry I called you a dork. Pretty please, Quicky? Be my love slave?_ He read it and deliberated for a second. The last bit swayed him a bit, but there was still the matter of his pride here. He wrote something and sent it back to her. _No!_

So he wanted to play righteous indignation, did he? Well, there was one way to get through that and she knew his biggest weakness. With a smile that could only be described as evil, she reached into her bag and pulled out something and sat it on her desk. 

Pietro casually looked over at her and his jaw dropped at what she had laid out. She had decided to pull out the big guns. "Thatissonotfair." he hissed at her. She just smiled at him, "Yes or no?" 

He sighed in defeat, "Ok. But I'm not a dork." With a smile she handed him the package that was on her desk. Within a matter of seconds he had ripped open the bag and popped one of the round objects in his mouth. With a blissful expression on his face he turned his attention back to the girl beside him. "Roguey, you play dirty. You know I can't say no to M&M's."

The class turned around in surprise to stare at Rogue, as the normally reserved girl burst into laughter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Have you guys, like, seen Rogue?" Kitty asked the other X-Men as she sat at the lunch table. When they shook their heads in the no, she sighed in frustration. "Am I the only one that's noticed how strange she's been acting?" 

"I noticed." Evan said. "She's been smiling a lot more lately. The other day I swear I actually heard her singing. It's disturbing."

"Maybe she's just finally adjusting to being one of us." Jean said practically.

"I don't think so." Kitty said enthusiastically. "You want to know what I think it is?" No one said anything, but she just continued on. "I think our Rogue is in love."

Jean just gaffed. "Rogue?! I don't think so."

"Well, I don't know what it is, but I for one am happy that she's not gloomy anymore." Kurt told them. 

Kitty kept silent about after that as the conversation turned to other matters, but she vowed to solve the mystery surrounding her roommate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile the misplaced teenager, totally unaware that her teammates were talking about her, was standing in the hall waiting for her boyfriend to show up. He had asked her to meet him by the old science lab. It was in the far side of the school, and the classroom farthest away from the main doors. Because of this (plus it being lunch) the hallway around it was empty except for the impatient Rogue. 

'Where is that Speed Demon?' she thought to herself. She was so busy with her thought that she was totally unprepared when someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. Reflexively, she grabbed for the arm to throw the person over her shoulder. Only their quick reflexes saved them from getting tossed. 

"You are so jumpy." Pietro said chidingly. "I think you need to lay off the caffeine."

Rogue tried to relax her adrenaline still pumping through her veins after he had startled her. "Damn it Pietro, don't sneak up on me like that." She glared at him, more irritated that he had managed to sneak up on her than the actual sneaking itself. 

He just smiled at her annoyance. "Awww, Roguey. Have I ever mentioned how sexy you look when you're mad?" At his words her anger faded. 

"So, Speedy why did you want me to meet you here?" 

"That, luscious, is a surprise." He took a hold of her arm and led her to the door of the science lab. "Close your eyes." She gave him a skeptical look, but did as he said. She felt him guide her into the room. "Okay, open them." She did and gasped at what she saw. 

"Oh, Pietro. It's wonderful." she managed to get out, taking in the site before her. He had sat up a small table with two chairs that had a black tablecloth and two settings on it. Also in the middle was a vase of red roses. "You are just too sweet sometimes."

"I know," he said with a grin escorting her to the table. After making sure she was seated, he uncovered the dishes to reveal a plate full of tacos. 

"My favorite!" She said with a smile. They talked about various inconsequential things while they ate. When they were finished Pietro got rid of the dishes and table and chairs.

When it was gone she glanced at her watch and saw that they still had ten minutes until their next class. Both decided to just hang out in the room until it was time for class. They sat down on one of the tables (the chairs having all been either destroyed or removed). Pietro's wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against him. 

"So, are we going to do something tonight?" As he was asking he reached down and pulled off one of her gloves and held her hand in his, absently playing with her fingers. 

"I can't, we have a DR session at five. Then Kitty wanted me to go shopping with her." She grimaced when she said the last part, already dreading the experience. 

"How about after that?" Before she could respond their attention was caught as a voice spoke from the door.

"Oh my god. You two are totally, like, touching." At the words they spun to face the door, and found a shocked Kitty.

"Kitty! What are you doing here?" A shocked Rogue asked her roommate. 

"I was looking for you! I can't believe this. Are you to like a couple? Oh, I can't wait to tell the others. How long has this been going on? How can you touch him? Can you control your power?" Kitty babbled on, a delighted smile on her face. Rogue just groaned.

"Can we just kill her and spare my eardrums?" Pietro asked Rogue dryly. 

"We could, but then I'd probably get stuck with Jean as a roommate and I just don't think that I could handle it." Rogue whispered back. "You finished?" Rogue asked her roommate, Kitty nodded. "First off, you can't tell anyone!" Kitty looked like she was about to complain, but Rogue continued before she had a chance. "I have every intention of telling everyone by the end of the week. But right now I don't want to deal with a flipped out Scott. As for the rest of your questions I'll answer them later." Thinking that had settled everything she waited for Kitty to leave, but the next thing they knew the door opened and someone else entered. 

Rogue felt like pounding her head on the table in frustration as Lance entered the room, obviously following Kitty. Noticing the couple sitting on the table, he stopped dead in his tracks. "What?!" He stood there mouth agape. 

"Is anyone else going to show up?!" Rogue asked in frustration. 

Hearing her words, Toad, who had actually been going to spy on Lance and Kitty, stuck his head into the room. "One more, yo." he told her sheepishly.

"UGH!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration. Pietro, who thought that this was all hilarious, started laughing so hard that he fell of the table. 

Rogue, not appreciating the humor of the situation, stood up and glared down at him. "This is all your fault!" That only made him laugh even harder, which caused her to stamp her foot in anger. "Pietro Maximoff, you are such an insensitive jerk!" 

She started to walk away but had only managed to take a few steps before he was standing in front of her, the laughter gone from his face. He hugged her to him, completely oblivious of their audience. "I'm sorry, Roguey. Will you forgive me?" She glared at him, but seeing the pleading look in his eyes she quickly melted. 

"Of course Speedy. You know I can't stay mad at you." She said tenderly, they both leaned towards each other head drawing closer together… when a cough interrupted them. 

"Should we, like, leave?" An embarrassed Kitty asked the couple. 

"YES!!!" Both yelled. Everyone started to leave when Rogue's voice interrupted them. "And you didn't see any of this, or the gloves come off." Rogue threatened. They all agreed and hastily left the room. When they were gone Rogue turned her attention back to her boyfriend. "And where were we?" 

"Right about here." He answered, leaning forward until their lips joined. 

* * * *

Kitty could hardly contain herself the rest of the day, wanting to question her roommate about her relationship. By the time arrived at the house, she was practically hopping up and down in her seat. As soon as they were stopped she grabbed Rogue's hand and phased them out of the car and dragged her straight to their room. 

As soon as they made it into their bedroom Kitty started firing questions at Rogue. "Whoa, girl. Just take a seat and I'll tell you everything."

They settled into comfortable positions on the couch and Rogue recounted the tale, leaving out the more intimate details. When she was done Kitty's eyes were wide with wonder. "And you never found out how you can touch him?" Rogue shook her head in response. "That is all so totally Romeo and Juliet! It's so romantic!" 

"Romeo and Juliet die, Kitty." Rogue told her dryly. 

Her friend hardly paid any attention to the comment. "So have you guys… You know?" 

Rogue glared at Kitty, secretly shocked that her innocent little roommate would even think to ask such a question. "What kind of question is that? I hardly think that's any of your business Kitty!" Unfortunately, she was blushing when she said it, which gave it away.

"Oh my god, you have!" Kitty gasped. "You have to tell me all about it!"

"I will do no such thing!" Rogue told her, eyes wide. 

"Oh, come on Rogue. You can tell me. Please?" Rogue just shook her head, face red from embarrassment. "Okay, just tell me this, was he good?" Rogue turned even redder if that was at all possible. "Just tell me one thing and I'll stop asking!" Kitty pleaded, wanting to hear the gossip so bad she could almost taste it. 

"Okay, I'll tell you one little thing about my speed demon, and then no more questions, deal?" Rogue said realizing it was going to be the only way to get her friend to shut up. 

"Deal!" Kitty agreed bouncing on the bed in her excitement. She leaned forward expectantly.

Rogue thought for a moment trying to think of something that wouldn't reveal too much but would satisfy her roommate. "Okay, let's put it this way, his mutation can really come in handy."

"You mean his super speed?" Kitty asked, trying to puzzle out how that could be beneficial. 

"Well, that too." Rogue said, grinning in memory, "but I was actually referring to something that comes with the super speed. The boy has the most amazing endurance." 

Kitty's eyes widened at the implication, and she started to ask another question. Rogue held up her hand to halt her, "I told you one thing. That's all you're going to get out of me." 

"Ah, come on Rogue." When it became obvious that she wasn't going to divulge anything else Kitty gave a huge sigh. "Fine then, but don't ever expect me to give you any details about me and Lance." With that parting remark she left Rogue sitting on the bed mouth ajar. 

'Well,' Rogue thought to herself, 'maybe Kitty isn't quite as innocent as I thought.'

.:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:.

Rogue sighed wearily as she sank down onto the bed, not even bothering to take off her clothes. Logan had forced her and Bobby to do extra DR sessions for pulling a prank and she felt completely exhausted. And it wasn't like it had been that big of a deal, they had only frozen the swimming pool. Okay, so maybe they should have waited until it wasn't being used, but Jean did make such a good ice sculpture. 

Not only did they have the extra sessions but they were both grounded to the institute except for school, resulting in her not being allowed to see Pietro alone. Farther complicating matters, was that for some reason Scott was going all protective all of the sudden, and was constantly by her side at school ruling out the possibility of sneaking off to be alone with him during school. As a result she hadn't had the opportunity to be alone with her boyfriend all week. 

Now here it was the weekend and instead of going out, she was stuck at home. But then even if she could have left at that moment the only thing she could even think about was sleep. As soon as her head touched the pillow the girl was out like a light. 

+ + +

Kurt looked up from the TV when he saw someone walking past the door and was surprise when he saw Rogue. He was about to call out to her when he realized that something wasn't quite right, when he realized that the girl wasn't wearing any gloves, an accessory that she was never without. Silently he rose and went to the hall where he saw her slip out the door. Knowing that she was grounded, he decided to follow her to see where she was going that she would risk Logan's wrath (and an extension of her punishment). 

Kurt watched her quickly walk across the yard and effortlessly scale the wall. For the life of him he couldn't figure out how she managed to climb over since she didn't seem to even use her hands. He teleported outside the wall and appeared in front of her. She didn't seem to notice him, she just continued walking down street. "Rogue!" he called softly, not wanting to risk being discovered. She acted like she didn't hear him and started down the street. "Where are you going?" He asked her, louder this time. 

"He needs me," she said softly, unfocused eyes staring straight ahead.

"What?! Who?!" There was no response. Wanting a definite answer he grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him. "Rogue, tell me what is going on!"

At his words she turned her attention to him, blinking rapidly as if she was coming out of a daze. "Kurt? What… Where are we?" She asked noticing for the first time that she was outside. 

He stared at her in confusion, a worried expression on his face. "I was following you. You snuck out."

"The last thing I remember is falling asleep after a DR session with Logan." 

"Well, you said something like, 'He needs me'." At his words she seemed to pale. 

"Kurt, can you teleport us to the Brotherhood house?" She asked a panicked look in her eyes.

"Why?" He asked her, obviously mystified as to why she would want to go there. 

"Please! He needs me!" Her voice was desperate and against his better judgment he grabbed a hold of her arm and teleported them to the Brotherhood house. In a cloud of smoke they appeared on the rickety porch. Kurt reached up to knock but Rogue just threw open the door and rushed in. She sprinted towards the steps taking them two at a time. Kurt followed her at a slower pace and watched her throw open a door and rush into a dark room that was probably a bedroom. 

Kurt stood by the door watching as the girl rushed to the side of a figure that was thrashing around on the bed. Rogue gently shook the boy, "Pietro, wake up sugar. It's all right baby." Kurt watched in shock as she reached out and caressed the other boy's cheek to wake him up. 

Pietro awoke with a gasp with tears streaming down his face. Rogue felt her own tears moistening her face as she pressed against him, and he wrapped her in a hug. She pressed kisses against his face and whispered soothingly as he calmed down. Kurt felt like he was intruding and left the room and to go downstairs to wait and think about what had just happened. 

He turned to leave and saw the other brotherhood members gathered in the hall, trying to figure out what had just happened. They looked at Kurt expecting some sort of explanation from him, but he just shrugged, clueless as well. He headed downstairs, and the others reluctantly followed. He sat on the couch in the living room and sat in silence. The BoM members all took seats as well and glared at him suspiciously. 

After about 20 minutes Pietro and Rogue came down the stairs holding hands. Both looked a lot less distressed than before though not really what you would call happy. "Are you alright?" Kurt asked Rogue, once again noticing the lack of glove on the hand that was clasped with Pietro's. 

"Yeah, we should probably go. Bye guys." She waved to the other members of the Brotherhood, before heading to the door. Kurt went ahead of her and stood back so that she could say good-bye to Pietro.

Pietro pulled Rogue close to him and hugged her. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked him softly. 

"Yeah. I may be beautiful but I'm resilient." He told her jokingly with a soft smile. 

"Well, beautiful at least." She responded back with a smile that didn't quite make it to her eyes. 

"Roguey, I'll be okay." He tried to reassure her, seeing her doubt. "It was just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about."

Though she knew there was more to it than that, she decided to drop it for now.

Smiling at him softly, Rogue kissed him lightly. "We should get back before Logan notices I escaped and I'm grounded until I'm 30." 

"Yeah. What are you doing tomorrow?" 

"I have to go to school and finish my art project. Beyond that I'm confined to the house." She said with a grimace.

"How much longer?" 

"Until the end of the weekend… Unless he realizes I left and then, who knows?" She shrugged casually, not to worried about it. Logan liked to act tough but he was really just a softie (though he would gut anyone who had the nerve to say that in front of him). 

"So we're still on for the dance next weekend?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything. I better go. I love you, Speedy." 

"I love you too." 

Rogue walked over to Kurt and they disappeared with a bamf, only to reappear outside the institute wall. "You know, this would probably be a lot easier if you just ported us into the mansion." She told him dryly.

"We need to talk first." Kurt told her, his usually laughing face completely serious for once.

She sighed already knowing what he was going to say. "Go ahead."

"Would you mind telling me what that was all about?"

"Pietro needed me, so I went."

"That really tells me a lot." He told her dryly. "How did you know that he needed you? What was wrong? How long have you been a couple? And how can you touch him?" He shot the questions out as fast as he could.

"We've been a couple for about three months now and I don't know how I can touch him. And I don't know how I knew I just did." She shrugged to emphasize her statement. "As for what was wrong, that's really not my place to tell." 

Kurt frowned processing her answers. "He seemed really upset, are you sure he's going to be okay? I've never seen Pietro so upset. I thought nothing bothered him."

Rogue frowned at that, taking it as an insult to her boyfriend. "Of course stuff bothers him, Kurt. He's been through a lot. And can you blame him for not showing his emotions? After all, we both do the same thing." 

He raised his hands in a submissive gesture, silently letting her know that he hadn't meant any offense. "Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know Kurt. But I also know that he would never hurt me." She said it with such conviction that he was reassured.

He gave her a smile; "Come on I'll port you to your room."

She returned his smile and took a hold of his arm and he teleported them into her bedroom, which was thankfully, empty. He made to leave when Rogue's voice brought him up short. "Kurt?" He turned around to look at her. "Can we keep this between us?" He looked like he was about to decline but the pleading look on her face stopped him.

"Of course." He left the room-leaving Rogue alone in her room. She thought about returning to sleep but wasn't that tired anymore. With a sigh she grabbed up her gloves from the stand and pulled them off as she left the room. 

Rogue wasn't paying much attention to where she was going as she walked into the common room. As a result she didn't see the person racing out of the room until after they had barreled into her sending her sprawling on the floor. "Whoa Jamie, sugar, what's the rush?" She asked picking herself off the ground and then offering a hand to the boy and another to one of the four multiples. When all of them were off the floor they remerged with the original and he finally answered her question. 

"I was trying to get away from them!" He pointed over his shoulder to where Ray and Roberto were standing silently, guilty expressions on their faces.

"What exactly happened?" She asked Jamie, holding up a hand when Roberto started to protest.

"I was watching TV and they came in and put in a movie!" He said with a glare at the two.

"And what did you do that caused them to chase you?" She asked, not believing for a second that that was the whole story. 

He looked kind of sheepish at the question, "I took their tape." She gave him a look and he quickly pulled it out and handed it to the boys. "Sorry." he mumbled to them before turning his attention back to Rogue, a dejected look on his face. She felt herself melt at that look, the poor kid was stuck here with all these older kids that were to busy for him. As a result he never had anyone to play with.

She reached out and rubbed his head gently, and he smiled a half-hearted smile at her. Seeing this Rogue grinned at him then turned her attention to the boys who were smiling triumphantly thinking that they had got their way with the return of the tape. The looks quickly vanished as the girl glared at them. They gulped nervously and stepped back as she began to advance threateningly at them. "You two ought a be ashamed of yourself, picking on little Jamie like that. Well you got your tape back… To bad your not going to get to watch it, cause me and Jamie are taking control of the TV." They looked like they were about to protest, "You got a problem with that?" She demanded.

Shaking their heads vigorously, both quickly left the room, thankful to still be in one piece. When they were gone Rogue held out her hand and Jamie slapped it grinning widely. "That was just too easy. Now Let's see what's on." 

@---^---- @---^---- @---^---- @---^---- @---^---- @---^---- 

Rogue rubbed her eyes warily and stretched her arms above her head. She let out a groan as her muscles protest after being held in one position for hours. There was just something unnatural about being in school on a Saturday, and for any other class she would have flat out refused. But art was one of her favorite subjects, and this particular painting held a special appeal for the artist. However due to the subject matter she didn't want to paint it during class, luckily Ms. Folk, who was her favorite teacher, had offered to let her come in and work on it over the weekend. 

And it had worked out rather well, Rogue thought with a proud smile, looking over her painting. It had turned out stunning which wasn't surprising considering that the subject was Pietro. In the large painting the silver-haired boy was casually leaning against a row of lockers with his arms crossed. Somehow despite the fact that he was standing still she managed to capture a feeling of barely controlled energy that seemed to radiate from the boy, which combined with the mischievous expression he wore hinted at trouble. 

It was without a doubt her best work, but would unfortunately raise a lot of questions if one of her housemates saw it before she had confessed all. But that wasn't going to be a problem because she was going to tell them… As soon as she figured out how she wanted to go about it. With a small sigh at the thought she put the painting in the supply closet where it was unlikely to be disturbed and left the classroom careful to lock the door. 

She dropped the key off at the office and left the school, and was a little surprised to notice that it was starting to get dark. She thought about calling Scott for a ride but really didn't want to mess with him right now, instead deciding to walk. 

Halfway to the institute she realized that she was being followed. She wasn't sure how she knew, she could just sense it. She stopped listening but could hear nothing. Thinking that she might just be imagining things she started walking again. This time she heard footsteps behind her validating her belief. She glanced behind her shoulder and what she saw caused her to break into a run. It was the same mutant from her dream. She didn't get far before darkness swept over her.

+++

Pietro awoke abruptly a sense of urgency overtaking him. He had been trying to catch up on the sleep he had lost the night before after his nightmare when he had suddenly **_known_** that Rogue needed him. Without taking the time to ponder exactly how he knew, he threw on his uniform and raced down the stairs. He paused when he saw Lance sitting on the couch.

"CalltheX-MenandtellthemthatRogue'sintrouble!" He shouted at the other boy. Lance gaped at him, not sure he had heard correctly.

"What?" Pietro resisted the almost overwhelming urge to just go by himself.

He forced himself to slow down. "Call up the X-Men and tell them that Rogue's in trouble. She was walking home from school to the mansion. Tell them it's an emergency." 

Lance heard the anxiousness in the other boy's voice that assured him that he wasn't playing a trick on them and leapt into action. "TOAD!! FRED!! Let's go, we got an emergency!" Lance called up the stairs while he was dialing the phone. He turned his attention to where Pietro had been and wasn't to surprised to see that the other boy had already left.

The phone was answered after the third ring and luckily it was Ororo. "This is Avalanche. Rogue's in danger." He told her cutting through necessities. She didn't waste time asking unnecessary questions just where they needed to go and what they were up against. He told her what he could and then hung up. They had a friend to save.

++++

Pietro arrived at Rogue's side after what seemed to be an eternity but was actually only a minute. The site that greeted him was not one that he wanted to experience again. His girlfriend lay in the middle of the street with a huge man easily seven feet tall standing over her. He quickly raced up to them and swept her up before the man had the chance to realize he was there and ran a safe distance away. 

He set her down and gently patted her cheek to wake her up, after a few seconds she blinked and groaned. Opening her eyes she saw the concerned expression on his face. "Damn! Did you get the license plate of that bus?" 

He smiled at her weak attempt at a joke that he new was meant to reassure him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just took a knock to the head. I'm fine now. What about the mutant?" She asked standing up. 

"Still back there as far as I know. I had Lance call the others, they should be here soon."

"Pietro… That mutant is the same one from my nightmare back at the mansion." His eyes widened at that statement. His brow creased in a frown as he thought back to that night, recalling what she had said.

"Didn't you say then that he was strong?" She nodded. "Okay, so this guys mutation is probably super-strength. Do you remember anything else about him from the dream?"

"I think he was invulnerable." They were working of a plan to stop him when there was a squeal of brakes as the BoM arrived. They jumped out of the car and joined the other two.

"So what's up?" Lance asked them.

"About a block up, a really tall guy. Super strength and invulnerability."

"Do we have a plan?" Todd asked.

"Yeah. Todd, you and Fred distract him while Lance sends an earthquake at him which will hopefully knock him down long for Pietro to get me close enough to touch him. After that if he's still standing he'll at least be weak enough that we can take him down. Any questions?" Rogue informed them of the plan such a commanding tone that none even thought to contradict, though there were a few sharp looks at the unusual tone coming from the girl that she ignored.

They put their plan into action, all running up to where the mutant menace had been and saw that he was still there causing random destruction by smashing cars and knocking down lights and generally making a nuisance of himself. With a look at Rogue, who nodded in response, Toad and Blob set the first step of the plan into action. 

Blob lifted up a car that had already been smashed by the UM (un-named mutant) and tossed it at him. The UM spun around in surprise at the unexpected attack but managed to dodge out of the way. However while he was distracted Toad launched his tongue out and wrapped it around his ankles and jerked which caused the UM to tumble to the ground. He was just getting back on his feet when Avalanche sent an earthquake at him that caused him to fall to his knees. As soon as the trembling stopped Quicksilver, Rogue in his arms, raced to the UM's side. She pressed her ungloved hand against the mutants face. Both screamed in pain but she kept her hold for as long as she could. He finally managed to get her off and tossed her through the air. Before she could land Pietro was in front of her, slowing her down the impact sent both tumbling to the ground. 

They quickly rose to their feet and returned to the action. The weakened UM was trying to catch Toad who was hopping around trying to trip him up again. A red beam came out of nowhere and struck the UM causing him to falter. Before he had a chance to regain his equilibrium another earthquake knocked him onto the ground where a telepathic shield held him. The Blob and the strengthened Rogue picked up one of the torn down light poles and wrapped it around the UM securing him into place. 

After they were sure that he was secure the Brotherhood and the X-Men (who had shown up for the last of the battle and helped out) turned their attention to Rogue to reassure themselves that she was okay. 

"Are you okay?" Scott asked her. All Storm had told them was that Rogue was in trouble and needed help and that she was somewhere between the school and the mansion. 

"I'm fine," She assured them, though it wasn't completely true. The hit on the head was causing her head to ache and using her powers had amplified the feeling. The invulnerability that she had absorbed had helped to push it back but as it faded she began to feel slightly woozy. Everyone seemed to accept her pronouncement except for Pietro who rushed to her side concern evident on his face. 

He pushed her face up so that she was looking straight into his eyes, his anxiety causing him to forget their audience of which the majority was gaping in shock at his touching her face with his bare skin. He brushed her hair out of her face and asked her, "Are you alright?"

She wouldn't brush off his concern like she had the others and told him the truth. "Just slightly dizzy. I think I might have a mild concussion." 

"Why don't I run you back to the institute so you can be examined?" 

"EXCUSE ME!!" Scott's yell cut through their conversation. "Would someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" 

"There a couple, like duh!" Was Kitty's response. Kurt nodded in agreement and Scott glared at the two of them.

"You two knew and you didn't bother to tell me?!" 

"We didn't think it was any concern to you," Kurt told him simply.

"Of course it concerns me when one of our teammates is cavorting with the enemy. I let the whole Kitty and Lance liaison slide but this is just too much. No more dating the enemy!" He turned his attention back to Rogue. "You're going to have to choose, him or us!" 

Rogue closed her eyes for a second as if in thought and then glared at Scott. "There's not much choose is there?" She asked a weary tone in her voice. Scott started to smile in triumph when her next words brought him up short, "I'll get my things and move out." 

"Wh… What? You can't be serious. You would actually pick that manic speed freak over your team? Over your friends?"

Rogue's only response was a shrug of her shoulder and she turned sharply to leave considering the conversation to be over. The sudden movement made her head reel and she stumbled slightly. Pietro immediately steadied her and she sent him a grateful smile. However, Scott wasn't finished trying to talk some sense into the girl. 

"Rogue, really think about what you're doing here. You know that it won't last and then where will you be?" 

Pietro, who up until this point had been silent (something rare for him), was getting tired of listening to the X-Men bash him. "Listen you myopic moron. She's hurt." 

Unfortunately his words gave the leader someone to focus his frustrations on. With a total disregard to the words Pietro had spoken, Scott stalked right up to him and got in his face. "You're just using her."

  
"I do believe that is the stupidest thing you have ever said Summers. And from you that's saying a lot." Pietro taunted.

His words farther angered the boy and he completely lost it. Completely disregarding his normal rigid control he gave into his urges and swung a punch at the silver-haired boy. His fist was met with thin air as the boy was already out of the way. "You really aren't the brightest Summers. Haven't you realized by now that you can't touch me? You're way to slow. I can dodge anything that you can throw." 

"Yeah, well dodge this!" With those words Scott shot an eye blast at Pietro completely taking him by surprise. Before the blast could hit him Rogue was moving with a speed to rival Quicksilver's own, knocking the boy out of the way, and in the process the blast hit her sending her flying through the air, only to crash down on the pavement. 

The impact combined with the previous injury was almost too much for her pushing her towards unconsciousness. She fought it back and looked up to see Pietro by her side, glaring at Scott with a look that caused the other boy to step back. "You better hope she's alright!" That was the last thing she saw heard before she lost consciousness. She never saw Pietro fall to the ground beside her also unconscious. 

.:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:..:.

Rogue opened her eyes but quickly shut them when they were assaulted by brightness. She eased them open slowly letting them adjust. When she was able to see clearly she attempted to sit up in the bed but groaned as her body protested. The sound caused the person sitting in the chair beside her to abruptly awaken. In a flash he was at her side.

"Are you okay, Roguey?" Quicksilver asked her, concern obvious in his voice. 

"Besides this throbbing in my head I'm fine. How long have I been out?" 

"They said it's been three days." 

"That long?" She then realized the first part of that statement. "They said?" 

"Yeah, I was out myself until a couple of hours ago. Apparently I passed out right after you did." He dismissed it as unimportant, but a frown creased her brows at his words. 

"What happened? Did someone attack you?" The words were rushed out, completely disregarding her own discomfort. 

He was quick to reassure her, "Nothing like that. I just passed out. Cue-ball, umm, I mean Professor Xavier, wanted to talk to me about it but I didn't want to leave until I knew you were better. And are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure." She sat up to prove her point, and he took a seat beside her on the bed. Both fell silent.

"So…" Rogue began hesitantly, "I guess they know."

"Yep. I know that it's not how you wanted to tell them, but…"

"It's alright. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy and they reacted how I had expected them to." 

"They being Summers?"

"Not just him. The others accepted it but they weren't exactly happy about it. Well, except for Kitty." The last bit was added with a smile, but it soon dropped away. "I don't know what's going to happen now."

"WellIwasthinking…" Pietro's voice trailed off, and Rogue was surprised to realize that he was extremely nervous, which caused his words to accelerate. "Umm,wonderingreally. Whatifwe,I mean,youknowhowIfeelaboutyouandIwasthinking… Iknowthatwe'reyoungandall… ButIthinkit wouldwork… Thatisifyouwantedtoo…" 

"Out with it, Pietro." She ordered him, not unkindly.

"What if we moved in together? Our own place?" He finally blurted out. 

Rogue's eyes widened in surprise. Move in together? That was a bit of a surprise, but come to think of it, why not? But there were some problems with the idea.

"How would we afford it?" 

"I have money. Actually quite a bit of money. When my mother died she left a trust fund for both Wanda and me that we were to receive when we turned 18. So money won't be a problem."

She tried to find any other faults with the idea and the only thing she could think of was their age. They were young, with him being 18 and her almost 18. But considering their lives, that didn't seem like that big of a deal. They had both lived through so much and learned so much in that short amount of time that it made them feel old. And their lives were constantly in a state of turmoil that to wait just seemed, well foolish. 

It was a big step, moving in with someone. But if she asked herself if she had any doubts to her feelings for him, or even his feelings for her, the answer was an unequivocal no. And that being the case was there really any doubt to her decision. 

"There's no one I would rather live with more, Pietro." 

At her words his face broke into a huge grin and he leaned forward and kissed her, which she gladly returned. Sure it might not be easy, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was one of the best choices she had ever made. She would finally get the family she had always wanted, someone who accepted her for herself, and somewhere where she belonged. All of her dreams were coming true, and all it took was one person. Pietro. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a mushy ending. I meant to go on since I'm sure that I left some unanswered questions, but I think I should leave that for the next part of the Secret Series, which I have decided to call this. It took me longer than I thought to write this, but then it's also the longest single piece that I've ever written (21 pages). I've got a lot of ideas for the next one, which I think I'm going to call The Secrets Out, which has completely changed from what I was going to make it originally. It should contain some Scott bashing (which is always fun) and will have appearances from Mystique, Wanda, and the lovable members of the Acolytes (well, Gambit, Pyro, and Colossus at least). So, what did you think, should I continue? Reviews are like chips to writers, one is never enough.


End file.
